2016 NC
BLACK FILM FESTIVAL – One of my most pleasant surprises since I had to stop
everything last March after I was diagnosed with acute leukemia was that the 2016 NC Black Film Festival in
Wilmington had been delayed until September 15-18th in Wilmington.

It was a
pleasant surprise because last year, and I believe in years prior, the NCBFF
had been held in March. My film, “Pardons
of innocence: The Wilmington Ten” won Second Place in the Best Documentary
category last year, and this year, I entered my short-subject documentary “WLLE: The Voice of the Community ” –
about Raleigh’s first black radio station in the 1960s. The film made its debut
at NC State in February 2015.

But once I
became hospitalized in Chapel Hill for four weeks, I had just tossed it to the
wind whether my film was even accepted, given everything else I was dealing
with. I had actually looked online to see news about this year’s NCBFF, but not
finding any, I just forgot about it.

So imagine
my surprise to learn not only that my film was accepted, but the 2016 NCBFF was
pushed back to mid-September. That’s great because I finish my multiple rounds
of chemotherapy before then, and should be able to travel[the illness, coupled with my trying to come
back from a debilitating stroke to my left leg in November 2014, has me walking
gingerly. Plus, I’ve literally had to stay away from public events because I’m
susceptible during the course of treatment to infection because my immune
system has been weakened.

So GOD
willing, I will be in Wilmington in mid-September for the 2016 NCBFF. I really
enjoyed my visit there last year, and especially meeting all of the new and upcoming black filmmakers
and seeing their work and ideas. I’ve had stop plans for any new productions of
my own that I was looking to do because of the illness, but my love of film and
filmmaking has never waned.

No, I’m not
concerned with whether I win anything or not, because that is not why I made
“WLLE: The Voice of the Community “ in the first place. But you do want to be
amongst your peers, you do want to network and keep current in the industry,
and yes, I do want some fresh fried fish, shrimp and scallops from the coast to
feast on. Yes, yes and YES to all of that.

So outside
of the November elections ( which I predict we’ll all need a break from), I’m
looking forward to bringing my family to the 2016 NCBFF in mid-September.
Thinking about attending puts a smile on my face already.

PLEASE
PERMIT ME TO SIGH – These two stories theoretically have nothing to do each
other, and yet they very much do.

A few weeks
ago there was a story about a Pew Research study that showed that two-thirds of
blacks and Hispanics felt that President Obama did what he could during his two
terms in office to improve race relations. That same survey, however, only had
52 percent of whites believing the same thing.

Overall, 62
percent of Americans give the first black president of the United States credit
for trying to bring th nation together, and try to bring about some
understanding.

So that now
brings us to the second story, also from a few weeks ago, that as we said
before, theoretically has nothing to the president trying to improve race
relations, but as you’ll see in a minute, can easily apply.

Back in April, the secretary of the Treasury
announced that abolitionist Harriet Tubman would soon grace the front of the
twenty bill, and slaveowning President Andrew Jackson would be placed the back.

With the
exception of coins, women rarely have graced the front of our paper currency,
and black women virtually never. In a nation that is becoming more and more
diverse every day, it just makes sense to make sure that that diversity is also
increasingly reflected.

Or, you
would think..

Enter
right-wing Republicans. You know, the kind who still swear that America’s gone
to hell in a hand basket just because an African-American has been elected
twice.

Rep. Steve
King of Iowa was one of the first to raise his hackles, saying that as a
conservative, he has the right to want things to stay the way they are. Thus,
he saw no reason to change the $20 bill.

But then
Rep. King goes off the deepest end possible.

According
to the website, “Thing Progress,” He
also called it “racist” and “sexist” to say that the United States should put a
woman or person of color on the country’s money. “Here’s what’s really
happening: This is liberal activism on the part of the president that’s trying
to identify people by categories, and he’s divided us on the lines of groups,”
he said. “This is a divisive proposal on the part of the president, and mine’s
unifying. It says just don’t change anything.”

All of this just because the United
States wants to diversify it’s money. Mind you, the only diversity we tolerated
so far is the Susan B. Anthony fifty-cent piece, and Native American heads on
our pennies and nickels. But for some reason, having the face of a true
Americanhero, namely a courageous black
woman who did all she could to free people, seems to insult some folks.

Speaking of insults, no less than Dr.
Ben Carson, the failed GOP presidential contender to successfully mumbled his
way to a pot of campaign gold, agreed with his Republican colleagues, and
suggested that Harriet Tubman be placed on a $2.00 bill.

And you wonder why the term “negro”
is still in our vocabulary?

It hurts nothing to put Harriet
Tubman, Rosa Parks or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on any of our currency.
Indeed, years from now, our grandchildren will most likely welcome $100 bill
with the face of President Barack Obama on it.

What will the Rep. Kings and Donald
Trumps of the world say then?

Cash in the Apple - honored as the Best Column Writing of 2006 by the
National Newspaper Publishers Association. Columnist Cash Michaels was also
honored by the NNPA for Best Feature Story Journalist of 2009, and was the
recipient of the Raleigh-Apex NAACP’s President’s Award for Media Excellence in
Sept. 2011.

Until
next week, keep a smile on your face, GOD in your heart, and The Carolinian in
your life. Bye, bye.

“Your campaign,
like
the leadership of our Legislature and Governor, does not represent the politics
of Lincoln, the call of justice, or the ethics of Biblical evangelicalism,”
Rev. Barber wrote, apparently referencing Trump’s previous “ban all Muslims
coming into the US” and “Mexicans are rapists” remarks. “So far, your campaign
as the Republican [presumptive] nominee for President does not represent the
ideals of Abraham Lincoln, the Republican who signed the Emancipation
Proclamation and supported African Americans in their quest for freedom and
citizenship.”

The NC NAACP leader’s
letter to Trump is noteworthy because in several of his speeches, the wealthy
New York businessman has claimed that his policies will help
African-Americans in the nation’s inner cities rebuild their communities with
more jobs.

Still, a Washington Post poll last month found
that 94% of African-Americans surveyed across the nation had an “unfavorable”
view of Trump, while logging a 79% favorable view of his Democratic opponent,
former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. Mrs. Clinton campaigned with President
Obama in Charlotte Tuesday, hoping to garner some of the president’s 51%
national approval rating and 2008 coalition voters for this November’s general
election.

Even though Donald
Trump does boast of some support from a cadre of black ministers with whom he
occasionally meets, it was clear from Rev. Barber’s letter that he has not been
one of them.

Barber further accused
Trump’s campaign of not representing the “ideals” of pioneering black
Republicans like Abraham Galloway, who helped to found the GOP in North
Carolina in the late 1800s, or Bishop J. W. Hood, who helped to craft North Carolina’s
state Constitution during Reconstruction.

“These
Republicans all believed in equality, voting rights, public education, and
decent wages. We do not object to Republican leadership as such, but to
its failure to honor its own heritage,” Rev. Barber wrote.

Barber then questioned
what Trump’s candidacy actually means for the people of North Carolina, and
where he stood on the issues of voting rights, the resegregation of public
education and environmental protections.

“Mr.
Trump, you and many in your camp say that you are not a racist at heart, though
Republican leaders acknowledge the racist content of some of your assertions,”
Rev. Barber continued. “ You say you love Latinos and care about the sick
and the poor. You say that you are not xenophobic.”

“Please back up your
claims with concrete policies. That is where we have to look to determine these
things—not just in your heart, but in the potential impact at the heart of
policies you propose.”

“When you come to North
Carolina, remember that you are in the birthplace of the sit-in movement. You
are in the state where Dr. King first delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in
Rocky Mount,” the civil rights leader added.

Barber then accused
Trump of continuing the 1960’s “Southern Strategy” of dividing blacks and
whites racially, and ignoring the needs of the poor.

“You
have taken the “Southern strategy” a step further,” Rev. Barber insists to
Trump.” In the past, its devotees would hide behind code words. What you
are saying was only supposed to be in the backroom, not on the platform.
There is something to be said for candor, but in your case it poisons our civil
society.

In this state—in
our Moral Movement, we have stood together by the thousands with Black,
Brown, Asian, Native American, young, old, rich, poor, gay, straight, Jews,
Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and people without faith who believe in a moral
universe.”

“Our fusion politics are a proud
legacy here,”Rev. Barber stated in his
letter’s conclusion to Trump. “We know that what we need from any candidate
for public office, regardless of their political affiliation, is a moral agenda
centered in policies that establish justice, promote the general welfare,
provide for the common good, and help us to join hands as we all move forward
together. These are the ideals the better angels that should be at the center
of our public debate and discourse.”

Getting such an open
rebuke from the state’s NAACP president could be politically fatal for Donald Trump
in North Carolina. Even though the NAACP is a nonpartisan organization, under
Rev. Barber’s leadership, it has proven to be a powerful force against what it
considers to be “repressive” Republican policies in the state and the nation.

The civil rights group
has also been responsible for registering thousands of new voters in the state
over past elections.

-30-

WHY NORTH CAROLINA
MATTERS

TO CLINTON AND TRUMP
IN 2016

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

So exactly
why would both presumptive presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald
Trump bring their campaigns to North Carolina so prominently on the same day
this week, and weeks before their respective party conventions later this month?
Quite frankly, most pundits agree, it would be hard for either one to win the
November general election if they didn’t keep the Tar Heel State on the top of
their priority lists.

Clinton
entered the Charlotte Convention Center Tuesday to thunderous applause, and the
song, “This is My Fight” as she held the raised hand of her one-time
rival/one-time boss, PresidentBarack
Obama. They both spoke in front of a lectern with the official seal of the
President attached, which is customary when the president makes remarks.

Obama led
chants of “Hillary, Hillary” while seated behind his former US secretary of
State as she spoke.

Clinton
praised the president as someone “who never forgot where he came from,” and
credited him with saving the nation from a “second Great Depression.”

As if to
assure that she would continue Obama’s legacy, “ Clinton told the cheering
crowd, “….despite all the
progress we've made under his leadership - and yes we have - we still have a
lot of work to do."

During his remarks, the president
assured all that in his opinion, no one was more qualified to be the next
president of the United States than Hillary Clinton.

"I couldn't be prouder than the
things we've accomplished together,” Obama concluded, “but I am ready to pass
the baton.”

A 66-minute litany of personal attacks on “crooked Hillary,”
President Obama, and promising that if elected, he would “…make America great
again” for everyone.

Trump
specifically zeroed in on FBI James Comey’s earlier announcement that no
criminal charges would be lodged against Clinton because of her mishandling of
classified US State Department emails on her personal server while serving as
Obama’s secretary of State. Trump accused Clinton of “bribing” the FBI and US
Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

North Carolina is a “battleground”
state, considered just as capable of swinging “Blue” Democrat, thanks to Obama’s
historic victory here in 2008, as it could swing “Red” Republican, evidenced
since 2010 when the GOP took over majorities in the state’s congressional
delegation, both US Senate seats, the General Assembly, the state Supreme Court
and the Governor’s Office.

In 2012 Republican presidential
candidate Mitt Romney won the state over Pres. Obama’s reelection bid by a slim
100,000 votes.

Democrat Clinton and Republican
Trump are on a path to claiming the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the
White House in November, and North Carolina’s 15 electoral college votes are
key, along with wins in other battleground states like Ohio, Florida, Virginia,
and Pennsylvania, to what political observers say could go either way this
fall.

Clinton spent an estimated $2.3
million in advertising in North Carolina, while Trump’s campaign hasn’t hit the
Tar Heel State’s airwaves yet.

If a Democrat can claim at least
two Southern states from the list, the presidency is almost assured. Republican
presidential candidates have normally dominated the South in recent history.

In a head-to-head matchup as of
June 24th, Clinton and Trump were virtually dead even in North
Carolina when an average of all of the recent polling was measured. CBS News
had Clinton up by 2, 44-42 over Trump. The conservative Civitas Institute also
had Clinton by a slim two-point margin over Trump, 42-40. Ironically, the liberal
Public Policy Polling had Trump past Clinton by two, 48 to 46. With a plus or
minus 3 to 4 point margin of error for most polls, those latest numbers have
both campaigns in a wash for now.

All of the above boils down to turnout
in November, and specifically what the black vote in North Carolina will do,
observers say.

-30-

STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 7-7-16

US JUSTICE DEPT. ASKS
FEDERAL COURT TO STOP HB 2 LAW

[RALEIGH]
Attorneys for the US Department of Justice were in federal court Tuesday asking
a judge to stop implementation of North Carolina’s controversial HB 2 law that
requires LBGT citizens to only use bathroom facilities that their gender at
birth dictates. State lawmakers refuse to repeal the law during the recent
legislative short session.

NC GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ADJOURNS AFTER PASSING $22 BILLION BUDGET

[RALEIGH]
State lawmakers adjourned this year’s short session last Friday night after
both chambers passed a $22 billion budget for the new fiscal year. Several
bills were left to be taken up during the next session in January, including a
House bill requiring high schools to offer two different standards in math
courses.

CONGRESSIONAL
DEMOCRATS LEERY OF GOP PROMISES ON GUN BILL

[WASH., DC]North Carolina’s three Congressional
Democrats rejoined their colleagues on Tuesday after the Fourth of July recess
to resume their protest of the House Republican majority’s refusal to bring
meaningful gun legislation up for a vote. GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan indicated
that he would allow at least one anti-terrorism bill to be debated and voted
on, but Democrats counter that measure would not reduce the number of guns
available, or adequately keep guns from those who would misuse them. House
Democrats staged a protest sit-in prior to the holiday break.

The US Fourth Circuit Court of
Appeals is apparently no fan of the NC General Assembly’s district map-making.
Once again the federal appeals court, this time in the case of Wake County
School Board and County Commission seats, has ruled that voting districts drawn
by the Republican-led Legislature for this November’s elections are
unconstitutional. The three-judge panel ruled that the new county lines, which
observers claim were drawn to hurt the majority-Democrat boards, violate the
Constitutional principle of one-person, one vote. The appellate court ordered
the presidingfederal judge to issue a
permanent injunction preventing any of the scheduled elections this fall based
on the new Wake maps.

WAKE ELECTIONS BOARD
FINALIZES GENERAL ELECTION EARLY VOTING SITES

After a
contentious session, the Republican-majority Wake Board of Elections last week
approved of twenty early voting sites throughout the county that voters will
have ten days, starting Thursday, Oct. 27th, to cast ballots at prior to the November 8th
general elections. The 20 sites are four more than were opened for the 2012
general elections. Early voting ends Saturday, November 5th .The sites will open at 9 a.m. and close at 7
p.m. weekdays. On Saturday, Oct 29th, early voting sites will open
at 8:30 a.m., with the downtown Wake Elections Board office closing at 1 p.m.,
while all others will close at 2 p.m. On Sunday, Oct. 30th, early
voting sites open at 1 p.m. and close at 5 p.m.. On Saturday, Nov. 5th,
early voting starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m.. On weekdays, the downtown
Raleigh Wake Board of Elections opens at 8:30 a.m. for early voting and closes
at 5 p.m.

2016-17 WCPSS SCHOOL
YEAR BEGINS JULY 11th

Year-round
WCPSS students head back to classes officially on Monday, July 11th.
Over 41,000 pupils attend Wake County ‘s 48 year-round schools – 37 elementary
and 11 middle. Year-round students attend the same number of days of
instruction as traditional calendar pupils, but the year-round calendar is
structured differently to maximize learning and make best use of school facilities.